Formed front header for a dock leveler

Abstract

A dock leveler includes a pivotally extendable lip coupled to a pivotal deck by way of a front hinge, wherein the structure in the area of the front hinge optimizes the torsional flexibility of the deck; provides a well supported, durable crown (apex angle between an extended lip and the deck); and reduces the part count of the dock leveler. The front hinge includes a deck-hinge member that extends approximately the full width of the deck and is preferably formed from a single sheet of material. A particularly narrow front header or flange disposed along the front edge of the deck reinforces the relatively thin deck plate so that the plate's rigidity more closely matches that of the thicker lip, yet the flange is sufficiently small to allow the deck to twist so that the deck can place the tip of the lip squarely upon a sideways inclined truck bed.

1. A dock leveler, comprising:
 a deck that includes a deck plate supported by a plurality of support members the deck plate has a deck width, a front edge, and a plate material thickness, and the deck is movable between a raised position and a cross-traffic position; 
 a lip being pivotally coupled to the deck adjacent to the front edge such that the lip is pivotal between an extended position and a pendant position; 
 a hinge pin that pivotally couples the lip to the deck such that the lip can pivot relative to the deck about a longitudinal centerline of the hinge pin; and 
 a flange lying adjacent to the front edge, running along most of the deck width, and extending downward from an undersurface of the deck plate to a lower edge of the flange, wherein the lower edge of the flange is higher than a lower extremity of the hinge pin when the deck is at the cross-traffic position. 
 
   
   
     2. The dock leveler of  claim 1 , and further comprising a deck-hinge member attached to at least one of the plurality of support members, the flange being disposed between deck front edge and an upper surface of the deck-hinge member to transfer a load applied to the front edge to the support member. 
   
   
     3. The dock leveler of  claim 2 , wherein the deck-hinge member and the flange extend along most of the width of the deck. 
   
   
     4. The dock leveler of  claim 1 , farther comprising a deck-hinge member attached to the deck and a lip-hinge member attached to the lip, wherein the hinge pin pivotally couples the lip-hinge member to the deck-hinge member to pivotally couple the lip to the deck, wherein the deck-hinge member includes an upper surface that is substantially flat and lies at a non-zero angle to the deck plate, so that the upper surface of the deck-hinge member and the deck plate are not parallel. 
   
   
     5. The dock leveler of  claim 1 , wherein the lip includes an upper lip surface, a lower lip surface, and a back edge, and the deck-hinge member includes an upper hinge surface such that when the lip is in the extended position, the upper lip surface and deck plate create an apex when the back edge of the lip engages the front edge of the deck and the lower lip surface engages the upper hinge surface.